While You Were Gone
by a0ria
Summary: Logan just won't renovate, so Marie takes matters into her own hands. I was watching TLC's 'While You Were Out' a lot lol Again, it's kinda AU.
1. Making the plans

**Disclaimer: Obviously, Wolvie and Rogue are not mine, nor are the X-Men, in general...which, of course, saddens me greatly lol. I'm also not the CEO of TLC, and therefore, the show 'While You Were Out' is also not my idea, so no infringement intended there either! Just lovin' the show over here lol. **_Hope you enjoy the fic!_

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**Chapter 1****: Making the Plans…**

"Hi…yes, ah'll hold…" Sitting at the kitchen table, Marie tucked a loose strand of auburn hair behind one ear and absentmindedly tapped her foot along with the song playing on the radio. The walls all around her were bare, plain, devoid of any colour, any style—well, except for the varying shades of brown, Marie amended, rolling her eyes. Logan's idea of flair was so…well, natural.

Stifling a yawn with her free hand, Marie glanced around her home. She and Logan had been living in this little cabin in the upper reaches of Saskatchewan for close on three months now and even though she loved the remote area and the privacy afforded by the cozy bungalow, she craved a little modern elegance, a little colour, a little more… furniture.

Sure, she missed living at the mansion sometimes, missed her friends and the kids, but she'd give anything to stay right where she was. This was her home, now. And anyways, Jubes always called _at least_ once a week to update her with the latest gossip. And, by god, she still couldn't get over how Jack had managed to two-time Rhonda _and_ Kitty without either of them having any clue. At that point, Kitty had stolen the phone to give her own account of the incident, ending off by hinting that Xavier had sent Logan and herself a little house-warming gift.

Marie missed the professor, too—missed his welcoming smile and kind eyes. He was one of the few people, next to Logan of course, with whom she'd entrusted her deepest, darkest secrets. Life on the road at such a young age had been hard to say the least, and even now, she still carried a lot of emotional baggage she'd much rather cut loose.

But what she missed most was every-day life at the mansion. No two days were the same. Sure, she'd had a regular day job—well, as regular as having a class filled with wild mutant teenagers could be—and she'd enjoyed it. There were the nights spent out with the team, fighting 'the forces of evil': the FOH and the brotherhood, but also_…planned_ nights and hunky-dory group-outings. It had all been Scott's idea—_obviously_, the Logan in her head reminded her, _only One-Eye would come up with such a crummy idea_— for the X-men to go out bi-monthly and spend some bonding time together. Riiiight.

She smirked suddenly, delightedly, her mind's eye conjuring up a mental image of Logan. Obstinate as usual and seated amongst strangers at the bar that night, his eyes devouring her slender form, clad only in a sparkly halter and a slinky leather skirt hitched high on her hips. Her lips curled at the memory of calloused fingertips pressing into her skin, tracing the length of her spine...making her shiver despite the warmth of the morning sunlight.

She'd never been so sure of herself, of him, as she'd been in that moment. His desire had been palpable even through the thick haze surrounding them, but she'd felt something else entirely when those brown and gold-flecked eyes had caught and held hers. She'd been more than impressed the following morning, when she'd awoken sprawled atop his chest, fingers tangled in his curling chest hairs, his arm locked tightly around her.

On the morning she and Logan had piled their belongings into their jeep, Xavier had wished them a safe trip and reminded them of the home they'd always have at the mansion.

Three months of living here and the only pieces of furniture they owned were an old, worn sofa with some crappy blue and orange floral design—they'd purchased it from Mrs. Harper, a little old lady from town with smiling blue eyes and the best damn peanut butter cookies Marie had ever tasted—a kitchen table and a couple of chairs, a dresser, and their bed, of course.

-x-

The first time she'd brought up their desperately needed renovation-situation, Logan had been watching a hockey game.

Taking a decidedly blunt approach, Marie had stood right in front of the TV, arms crossed, and demanded they take a trip to the Home Depot two towns over. Logan, petulant at having his view of the game obstructed, had agreed to 'do whatever the flamin' hell'—his words—'she'd wanted just so long as she moved out of his way'.

Patting herself on the back for a job well-done, Marie had plopped herself down onto the couch, snuggled up next to him, took a sip of his beer, a handful of pretzels, and settled in to watch the remainder of the game, arms and legs curled around his warm body.

Marie giggled suddenly, remembering the way Logan had cursed a blue streak when the Rangers had scored that over-time goal, knocking his precious Canucks out of the playoffs.

To make a long story short, come morning, Logan had denied ever agreeing to anything and then proceeded to make her forget about anything and everything for the rest of the afternoon.

-x-

The second time, Marie decided to be a bit more cunning.

_Peeking her head out of the bedroom, where she'd gone to finish reading her trashy romance novel in peace, Marie eyed Logan's large, well-built form sprawled out on that rinky-dink couch. God she hated that thing. Watching the way his chest rose and fell in the comfortable rhythm of sleep, Marie let her eyes trail down the long length of his body. She'd get him this time. _

_Donning an emerald green satin negligee and opera-length gloves, she tip-toed over to the sofa, sat close beside him and smiled naughtily while running gentle fingers over the rapidly-growing bulge in his tight jeans. _

_With a low groan, gorgeous hazel eyes slid open, soaking up the sight of the smooth, warm body above him. The corners of his sexy mouth curled and when he looked like he was about to say something, Marie offered him a teasing come-hither look and placed a gloved finger-tip against his lips. "Uh-uh, sugah." _

_Lids drooped to half-mast, Logan breathed in sharply, inhaling the scent of warm, scantily-clad woman, his woman. He watched, aroused, as she lowered her soft body against his, pressing gentle kisses to his chest and moving lower. The tops of her firm, white breasts peeked out from beneath the low neckline of her gown, tempting him, taunting him. His cock on fire, Logan growled low in his throat_

_Hauling her sweet body up the length of his body, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, "Mmm…M'rie…" Marie gasped at the feeling of large, hot hands cupping, groping the generous swells of her bottom. _

_She stopped just inches from his face, her sweet breath warming his lips. She smiled coyly, eyes sparkling with ill-concealed yearning. "Logan sugah, can I ask you somethin'?"_

_Hazel eyes, cloudy with desire, met hers. "Hmm?"_

_Smiling, Marie leaned closer, snuggling into his warmth, and pressed a soft kiss against his sideburn, "Can we go shopping tomorrow?"_

_He didn't answer her, but clutched her smaller frame closer to his body and began nibbling along the sensitive line of her shoulder. She moaned, feeling her entire body turn to mush, but she was determined to see this through. "Please, sugah. I really want to go into town tomorrow. Can we? Pleee—"_

_Before she could further argue her point, a pair of sly swashbucklers had snuck their way down past her waistline, setting a blazing fire at the juncture of her thighs. "Logan…don't—don't change the—the subject…oh mah gawd…"_

Well, it's kinda obvious how that turned out. Bastard's damn good at what he does, heh.

"Anywho…huh? Oh, yes, ah'm here. Still holding, haha…Right. Yeah, ah'll hold..." The clock on the wall proclaimed it to be 11:30 and darting a quick glance out the window, Marie sighed and set to biting her nails. Gross habit, yes, but a damn hard one to get rid of. What was taking these people so long, anyways? Logan would be home any minute now. "Come on…come on…pick up. Pick. Up!"

"Hello, TLC, how can I help you?" It worked! She grinned.

"Hi there, ah'd like to sign up for 'While You Were Out'…yes. Mhm…ah do…ah did. That's right. R-O-G-U-E…um…Logan. Yes. Perfect. Cool, okay, thanks! Bah."

The door slammed shut just as Marie hung up the receiver. "Hiii! What'd you bring home for lunch, sugah?"


	2. Molson?

**Chapter 2****: Molson?**

_Two Weeks Later_

It was the shrill ringing of the telephone that had startled him awake early one Saturday morning, rousing him from a deep sleep, filled with dreams of a naked Marie.

Lifting his head from the pillow that still carried her sweet scent, the faint wet splashes echoing from inside the bathroom had Logan waking up in an all together different sense of the word.

Marie's husky voice filtered out from beneath the bathroom door, "Sugah? Would you get that? Ah'm sorta…indisposed."

Logan groaned at the distinctly dirty images his mind was conjuring up and rolled out of bed, padding softly in all his naked glory towards the kitchen to answer the still-ringing telephone

"Yeah?" He growled into the receiver, smiling at hearing Marie's snigger from the other room.

"Mr. Logan?"

Logan sighed audibly and rolled his eyes. _Better not be another of those damned telemarketers again_. "Who's askin'?"

"I'm calling on behalf of 'Molson's Canucks spotlight'." A timid voice answered with a forced gusto.

"What the fuck is that?"

"Ahem," the woman cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Your girlfriend, uh…um, R-Rogue, entered a contest a few months ago and her name was drawn. You've won a trip to the Vancouver Canucks' training camp this weekend."

Logan lifted an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

The woman on the line quickly affirmed herself, "Uhh...That's--that's right! You'll have the opportunity to play hockey with some of your favourite NHL players and watch them as they play a live game."

"That so? Well, who're they playin'?" Logan was starting to feel a little excited at the prospect of meeting some of hockey's greats and watching them kick ass. It had been a good five years since he'd last been to a game.

"Uh…well, the Canucks are going to be playing…uhhh…"

Logan sighed into the phone as a pair of warm, pale arms slid around him from behind. "Who's that on the phone, sugah?" Marie queried, her words blowing soft breath against his earlobe, making him shudder with pleasure.

Logan turned slightly to face her and greeted her with a kiss. "It's the beer store. They said you won a contest you entered a coupla months ago, baby." Marie seemed puzzled for a moment, her nose scrunched up in thought. Leaning down to rub his nose against hers, he saw a strange light dawn in her eyes before the confusion creasing her brows melted away.

"A contest? Gosh dangit, sug, what are the chances, eh?" She giggled nevously.

He didn't have time to wonder at her strange behaviour as a thought suddenly occurred to him as he turned to look out the window: "Hey lady, can I bring someone along?" He knew how much Marie also liked the Canucks and they'd have fun together in B.C.

"No, I'm sorry." The woman responded quickly. "The trip is just for you, Mr. Logan."

Marie's fingers danced around his bellybutton and he could feel himself hardening, all the blood in his body rushing south, as her fingers crept downwards. "Logan, go ahead. Ah won that trip for you, so you could do somethin' fun, just the guys, ya know?" she murmured against his back. "Ah don't mind, honest. And Jubes and Kitty were plannin' on poppin' by this weekend to say 'hey' and check out our place. And Ah know how much you'd just looove to see them."

Logan leaned his head back against her shoulder and grinned like the Cheshire cat, passion-filled hazel boring into her eyes, "You sure yer okay with this, baby?"

Marie brushed her lips against his forehead and gave his rump a gentle pat. "Yeah, Ah'm sure, Logan. Now answer the woman--tell her you'd love to go."

Logan growled and swatted Marie's hand away from his backside before straightening and switching the phone to his other ear. "What'd you say about Molson sponsoring this thing?"

-x-

"Logan sugah, I'll be fahn. It's only two days and Jubes already called this mornin'. Look, the car's already heah," Marie smiled brightly, one arm wrapped tightly around Logan's waist, trying to act casual and allay any suspicions. He glanced outside the door of their small cabin in the woods and noted that the car was indeed waiting for him.

Cupping her jaw in his hand, Logan turned Marie's eyes to his. "I want you to be careful, darlin'." Pressing her lips to his stubble-covered chin, she started to reassure him, but he stopped her. "Darlin', I know Jubilee and Kitty're comin' up to stay with you, but that kinda just worries me more." She pouted and his eyes twinkled mischievously.

Marie smirked. "Ah promise to be careful, honeybun, don't you worry now." Grinning that crooked grin of his, a faint blush staining his cheeks, hands filled with his girlfriend's sweet curves, Logan growled before leaning down to capture her lips with his own, plundering her soft mouth with his own, their tongues duelling heatedly.

Pulling away from each other, Logan studied Marie's face, memorizing her features. Marie simply smiled back at him, careful not to let her eyes alert him to her clever little plan. _He's suspicious enough as it is_, the Logan in her head reasoned, _no need to let the cat out of the bag_. Looking into his eyes now, Marie couldn't tell what Logan was thinking, but she breathed a sigh of sweet relief when he hefted his duffel over one shoulder, leaned down for one last kiss, and halfway out the door, pointedly reminded her not to open the door to strangers and _especially_ not when Jubilee arrived, before walking out to the car.

Marie chuckled, leaning against the doorway in her cozy flannel robe and waving as the car sped off. Logan was gonna be so surprised.


	3. Richard Who?

**Chapter 3****: Richard Who?**

It was nearly noon and Marie had been waiting for the 'While You Were Out' crew to arrive all day. Her bffs were also MIA, even though they'd told her they'd come a-callin' by ten or eleven the latest. Glancing at the clock above the stove, Marie stopped her pacing and flopped down onto her ratty old sofa with a humph.

Suddenly, a sharp knock--or more like a heavy thump--at her door interrupted her thoughts. Launching herself out of her seat, Marie yipped with joy, clapping her hands happily as she made her way to the door. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest as she smoothed her hair down and prepared to open the door. "Whooo is iiiit?" she sing-songed, already grinning as she thought about how surprised Logan was going to be when he returned home.

"A wild grizzly bear who wants to eat your food!"

"And use your bathroom! Open up, chica!"

Laughing, Marie unlocked the door and yanked it open. "Chicaaas, how's it hangin'?"

Two very cold-looking girls rushed past her into the cabin, stomping their feet and shaking themselves to get rid of all the snow.

"Hey! Watch the snow, guys!"

A cheekily grinning Jubilee tugged off her boots, threw off her jacket and then paused dramatically, turning to face Marie with a perfectly arched eyebrow raised in challenge. Then all at once, she dropped the facade and grabbed Marie up in a huge bear hug, planting a wet one smack dab on her cheek: "Hey, no worries, chica! Your house's getting a make-over anyways."

Marie just laughed, then laughed all the harder when Kitty threw herself into the mix and toppled the group right over. Marie lay sprawled out on her back, tears leaking from her eyes as she howled with laughter: "Hahaha! Awww guys! Ah missed y'all so much!"

From where she'd landed on top of Marie, Jubilee was wiping her own tears from her eyes as she playfully manhandled Marie, "Wassa matter, Roguey? Wolfman not into the arctic lovin'?"

Kitty snorted as she elbowed her way towards them and collapsed at Marie's side, clutching her stomach to stop the pain, which only increased when Marie smacked Jubilee's arm to get her to stop groping her. "Oooow...you guys...stop making me laaaugh," she wailed between gasps for air, her giggles already bubbling up again.

The three lay there for a while, just catching their breaths when, suddenly, the door bell rang.

"Oh my gawd, guys, that's them!" Marie screeched, pushing Jubilee away from her now, "Jubes, get offa me! Hurry, before they leave and Ah get stuck with this dang sofa for the resta mah lahf!"

The doorbell rang again and all three girls squealed with excitement as they scrambled to their feet and rushed for the door, fixing their hair and adjusting their clothing along the way.

Jubilee popped a wad of watermelon bubble gum into her mouth just as Marie yanked the door open, almost pulling it off its hinges.

"Hi, I'm Richard Thompson!"

All three girls visibly deflated and moved to look beyond the man standing on the doorstep. Seeing the 'While You Were Out Van' and a girl with a guy with a camera standing beside 'Richard,' their looks of disappointment changed to confusion as they turned their attention back to the man standing in front of them.

Jubilee eyed the guy in front of them, sizing him up from head to toe as she snapped her bubble gum, blew another bubble, then popped it loudly in his face. "Where's the other guy?" she asked, taking in his close-cropped blond hair and goatee, which didn't...at all...seem to match his personality.

Richard looked slightly confused. "I'm sorry?"

"Evan Farmer..." Jubilee hinted, snapping her bubblegum again, "you know the cutie..no offense, dude."

Richard blushed and smiled gratefully when Kitty elbowed Jubilee in the side and it appeard she'd shut up for the moment. "Uh, no, none taken... Evan's actually on a vacation of sorts. Me and my crew are filling in."

"Oh, well that sounds nahce. And it's very nahce to meet you, Richard. Please, come in. Mah name's Rogue," Marie smiled, extending her hand to shake before moving aside to let Richard and the camera man in. A younger woman peeked her head out from behind the two men and smiled as they all walked inside the house, "Hi there! I'm Grace-Ann and I'm the designer!"

Marie smiled and shook her hand as well, motioning to Kitty and Jubilee and introducting them in turn.

"Great, let's get started. There's just a few legalities for you to sign off on--in case of accidental damage to your property or some such. Oh and our crew has set up a small heated shelter outside. Hope you don't mind...um, yes, sign right here. Alright then, let's get started. Bill, turn on the camera, Gracie, back outside. From the top ladies and gentleman!"

-x-

_Homework_

"Oh my gaaawd, this totally blows. I can't believe they left us to do all this work by ourselves," Kitty moaned, paintbrush in hand. The room was slowly transforming before their very eyes and crazy amount of homework or no, Marie was beyond elated.

"It's not so bad. Ah mean, it's a lot of work, yeah, but can ya believe they wanted to do like practically the whole house? Ah know it ain't exactly big or anythang, but still..."

Kitty grinned, "It's pretty cool, huh? I don't remember ever seeing an episode where they did someone's whole house. Well...they're not really doing it all. More like sprucing it up... I guess they felt bad for you. Small house, dire straits...not a fashionable shop in sight.."

Marie rolled her eyes, "Tell me about it. But either way, lucky us, huh! Oh, and ya know Ah really appreciate you girls helpin' me out lahk this, too. Ah just know Logan'll love it as much as Ah do," Marie murmured, hanging a cream-coloured drape from above the window in their all-purpose living area.

"Aww, Roguey, you're making me blush," Jubilee teased, as she pushed the now-dry bookshelf into place against a sage green wall. "And you're right. I do think Wolvie's gonna like it. I mean, green, brown, white, it's allll natural. Should make him feel right at home. Ow!" Jubilee laughed and rubbed her arm, throwing a mock-glare in Marie's direction. "Watch it, babe! I was just sayin' is all... And anyways, if anything's gonna make him feel like an animal, it's that new bedroom of yours. Woooee! That Grace-Ann looks tame on the outside, but she got somethin' else _entirely funkay_ goin' on on the inside, you know what I'm sayin'?"

Kitty just nodded her agreement and continued painting the coffee table the rich chocolate colour they'd picked out. "I gotta agree with Jubes. Logan won't know what hit him. I just hope those claws don't accidentally come out when you guys are...ya know?"

Marie just laughed and shook her head, "I'm kinda more worried about the other thing..."

Walking over to the kitchen table, Jubilee grabbed a few cold eggrolls, tossing one to Kitty, and bringing the other two over to Marie. Plopping down on the floor next to her, Jubilee offered her friend one before biting into her own, "Eh, don't worry about it. In fact, how much you wanna bet he already knows? Hm?" Jubilee grinned, tapping her eggroll against her nose in a knowing gesture, before popping the rest of it into her mouth.

"Weeeird. I hadn't even thought of that..." Marie murmured, her own eggroll still untouched between her fingers as she sat lost in thought for a moment. _What if he already knows..._


	4. Interlude

_Many, many apologies for the long wait; I just didn't know how to finish it. Hope you enjoy:)_

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Chapter 4: Interlude**

"Hey, hey, hey! Rise and shiiine; it's morning tiiime!"

"Uuugh, nooo…. Go awaaay," Kitty groaned, moving sluggishly onto her side and covering her head with her pillow.

"Sorry! No can-do, ladies."

Wondering at the feeling of warm breath currently fanning her neck, Marie shifted her position and burrowed deeper into her blankets, opting to ignore the intruders for the moment.

"Wooow. Y'all did an absolutely _amazing_ job last night. I can't wait to see the rest of the house. But first—I brought coffee and muffins."

"Coffee?!" Jubilee shouted excitedly, instantly bouncing up from a deep slumber to graciously accept a cup of coffee and a cranberry muffin.

Marie grunted and cracked one eye open to glare at the owners of the annoyingly-chipper voices.

Fingers of early morning sunlight seeped in through the closed drapery, bathing the small room in warmly glowing orangey-yellow tones.

Wow, they really _had_ done an awesome job….

Sitting up to take one of the proffered cups of coffee, Marie took a sip before stretching her sore muscles and glancing around at her home with fresh eyes.

The kitchen had been painted a soft, golden yellow to bring out the warm undertones in the oak cabinetry and matching table and chairs that Logan had hand-crafted himself.

The plain white, linoleum floor had been replaced with a mixture of rich, earthy brown and tan-coloured, porcelain tiles, tying all of the different textures and hues of the room in together to create a cozy and inviting kitchen space.

The cool sage green walls of the living room provided a welcome contrast to the warmth of the kitchen area.

All of the room's furnishings, including shelving units and the entertainment centre, had been either stained or painted a deep brown to match the large, dark chocolate-coloured, suede sofa seated atop a lush, forest green rug.

Varying fabrics of soft creams and whites decorated all elements of the living space, completing the natural, earthy feel of the room.

Logan was going to love this.


	5. The Finale

**Chapter 5: The Finale**

It was just coming upon lunchtime and the 'While You Were Out' team was putting the finishing touches on each of the rooms when the crackling of a walkie-talkie filled the small cabin in the woods.

"He'll be there in five minutes people. Get moving. Get moving!"

Marie felt her hands begin to shake and her heart begin to pound as Kitty and Jubilee squealed with excitement beside her.

Looking around her one last time, Marie hoped she hadn't made a mistake. Maybe there'd been a reason why Logan had never showed any interest in renovating their home. Maybe he liked their home, their life…just as it was. Maybe—

Shaking her head to dispel her anxious thoughts, Marie gasped as Richard and Grace Ann each grabbed one of her hands and led her towards the door.

"Into position, people!"

The sound of the key in the door signaled Logan's arrival and Marie was pushed to the forefront as the door swung open to reveal a very large, and slightly hairy, though undoubtedly handsome man.

"Hey baby…" Logan murmured, briefly returning his girlfriend's kiss and hug, before darting a questioningly cautious glance over her shoulder at the camera crew standing behind her. "What's goin' on, darlin'?"

"Come in, sugah, come in!" Marie urged, ushering him inside and slamming the door shut behind them.

"Hello, Logan. I'm—"

"Holy shit! What the fuck happened here? Where's our couch?" Logan let his eyes roam over the room...green walls...shit-coloured furniture...that couch did look kinda comfortable, though...hmm. Wait a second--what the hell was that on the table? Potpourri? Geezus Christ….

Warm breath fanned his neck. "Wait 'til you see what we did in the bedroom, sugah…" Marie purred in his ear. Logan merely raised an eyebrow at her, a small smirk curling the corners of his mouth. Then again, maybe it wasn't _all_ bad...

"Mister Logan!" Someone shouted suddenly. "Hello there! We're from TLC's 'While You Were Out'—an interior decorating television show, where we re-decorate a room in someone's house as a surprise for a lucky winner. Well, were you surprised?" Richard smiled warmly, coming to stand beside Logan and placing a hand on his shoulder.

Logan snarled and shrugged the man's hand off of his shoulder, "Who the fuck're you?"

"I'm Richard Thompson. And this is the crew--Samantha Smith, Elwin Arthurs, and the brilliant designer, Grace-Ann Reddingfield," Richard smiled, pointing to each person, in turn. "And the whole thing, of course, was orchestrated by your lovely girlfriend, Rogue."

"Ohhh," Logan groaned suddenly, realization dawning. "So the Molson trip thing was really—? Ohhh. Alright, so.…"

Marie smelled slightly nervous, which instantly put Logan on edge.

Gently wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her close, he lovingly stroked her side to soothe her. "Wow, sure had me fooled. Thanks, baby. I—uh…I guess it _was_ time for—" Logan's speech paused as his eyes halted in their perusal of the room. "Wait just a fuckin' minute! There's no TV! Where the fuck's our TV?"

Turning on the crew, Logan's eyes narrowed to angry slits and he growled threateningly, "Alright, which one of you fuckers took it?!"

"Mister Logan!" Richard yelped, motioning frantically at the camera man to cut the volume on the mic. "The way the show works is to reward you for—"

"Yeah, ok. And did I ask how the show works, dicknose? No. I asked where the fuck my TV was..." he glared menacingly at Richard, Grace-Ann, and the camera man in turn, a low growl reverberating in his chest.

He heard Marie purr softly beside him and smirked inwardly. _Still got it._

"Don't you worry your handsome self, Mister Logan. You still have your TV, but if you can guess why Rogue wanted to do this for you, then you can win a _brand new_, flat-screen plasma TV for your fabulous, new living room! Now, did she do it because—"

"Everybody get the fuck outta my house! No—not you, baby. You two can stay for now, but the resta ya—get out!" Logan snarled, almost yanking the front door off its hinges in his haste to be rid of all the cameras and bright lights. "You there—leave the TV!"

The excitement in the room went into overdrive as much of the crew rushed headlong for the door, leaving only the host and the camera man behind.

Richard hurriedly moved into position beside Marie, placing a casual arm about her shoulders as he began his usual spiel: "For 'While You Were Out', this is—"

"Get your _**beep**_in' hands off my girl, you _**beep**_in'_**beep**_ before I take 'em off at the wrists!"

"Uh...for 'While You Were Out', this is Richard Thompson. Until next time..."

-x-

Marie turned the TV off and settled back into their brand new, deep chocolate-coloured suede couch with a sigh.

Logan's arm instantly wrapped around her shoulders and she couldn't help but laugh. "Ah can't believe you said that, Logan. The poor man looked like he was about to shit his pants."

Logan smirked mischievously, "Had to teach him a lesson, darlin'. You know how I get." Marie giggled in response to his macho bravado.

"Ah _do_. My favourite part, though, was when Rich asked you why you thought Ah'd done it and you growled sooo loudly at him that he nearly pissed himself. And then they just _gave_ us the big screen, without you even answerin' the question! Amazin'."

Logan smirked, breathing lightly on his nails before mock-buffing them against his shirt. "Well, ya know me, darlin'—always out to please... And anyways, I had every reason to be pissed with 'em. They sent friggin' Scooter with me! Though that's probably more your fault than theirs, eh?" he asked, raising a dangerously sexy eyebrow in Marie's direction.

"Sorry 'bout that, sug, but Ah needed Kitty-Kat this weekend to help out and Scott watches the show all the time and knew we'd need an insahde guy... But asahde from that! Do you at least lahk how it turned out?" Marie asked exasperatedly, though a hint of humour tinged her tone.

Logan glanced around their cabin, "Sure, what's not to like? Well...except for that gay purple thing by the fireplace."

"We can get ridda that."

"Good. And…the waterbed's pretty fun. Just gotta remember not to pop my claws when I come anymore, though..." Logan murmured thoughtfully and Marie just giggled, snuggling into his side and laying her head down on his shoulder as she looked up into his face.

"...And it doesn't hurt that I didn't have to open my wallet, either," Logan continued with a cheeky grin, making Marie laugh out loud.

"Oh and Marie?"

"Yeah, sugah?"

"I forgot just one other thing..." Logan murmured, sweeping a stray lock of hair out of her eyes and laying a tender kiss upon her forehead.

"What's that?" she whispered softly, taking Logan's free hand and lacing their fingers together. A pretty pink blush stained her cheeks as she smiled softly down at him in question.

Logan smiled and gently placed their intertwined hands atop Marie's belly before looking up into her dark eyes. "I love you."

**thEnd**


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